Chapter 357: The Crown Keeper bows.

There was a heat in the air, the kind that clung to the skin and made the air feel like a thousand microscopic bits of shattered glass. To most, it was only discomfort.

To Tobias, in this moment, it felt like torment.

He stood in one place, sweat dripping down his temples, chest heaving as though the world itself had thickened into a blanket of lava. It was because of the woman staring at him. Where others saw a human, he saw a volcano.

Julia didn’t even slow down. She brushed past him like he was a dusty coat rack, walking straight into the so called imperial hall with fifty armed Sanctum soldiers marching in tight formation right behind her.

Tobias looked at the one hundred men left standing outside, gulped loudly, and turned around to chase after her.

Julia stopped right in the middle of the hall. She turned around, her sharp eyes locking onto Tobias. "Care to explain why you didn’t send a message to the Sanctum reporting that Zyra Scorpion is running around the wild lands, telling everyone she’s the Divine Maiden?"

Tobias squeezed his eyes shut for a brief second, his frustration finally boiling over. He threw his hands up in the air and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Why is everyone looking for that bitch today?!"

Julia’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Excuse me?"

Realizing he had just yelled at a woman who could snap his neck with two fingers, Tobias panicked and pointed a trembling finger at the floor. "Look! Look over there!"

Sitting on the cold tiles was Candy, completely spaced out, staring at nothing as tears ran down her cheeks.

Julia glided over to Candy, looming over her like a shadow. "And who are you? Why are you looking for the Scorpion girl?"

Candy’s hand slowly slid down to her side, her fingers gripping the cold handle of the knife tucked inside her pant pocket. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to rip the blade out and slice Julia’s head off right here, right now. After all, Julia was the right-hand woman of the Divine Maiden, Trinity!

If her family members had been killed and put on spikes, it was no doubt the order of the Divine maiden. Only that sick woman liked to make an example of others in this way. It was an open secret in certain circles.

So, if she wanted revenge, she could start with the right hand aide of the woman who ordered her father’s death!

No_ wait, Candy thought, forcing her racing heart to slow down. If I strike now, these guards will turn me into minced meat in three seconds. I won’t get out alive. And Trinity is the one who really needs to die. Her and Zyra.

Candy swallowed her rage, tilted her head up, and looked straight into Julia’s cold eyes. "I want to kill Zyra Scorpion," Candy said, her voice dropping an octave, dripping with pure, unadulterated venom. "I want to tear her to pieces."

Julia stared at her for a moment, then a slow, amused smirk spread across her face. "Well, isn’t that sweet? I don’t care about your sad backstory, girl, but anyone who hates that Scorpion leech as much as you do is useful. You’re coming with us."

Candy gave a dark nod. "I’d be thrilled to join."

Yes, take me to your boss, Candy sneered in her mind. Take me right to Trinity, and I’ll end both of your miserable lives together.

Julia turned back to Tobias, her pleasant mood instantly vanishing. "Now, back to you, Tobias. Why didn’t you report Zyra’s presence to the Sanctum?"

Tobias let out a bitter, sarcastic sneer. "Report? Lady Julia, with all due respect, I’ve made fifty calls to the Sanctum this month! You guys haven’t replied to a single one! I literally begged you for help when the King Beast bird was burning us alive, and you ignored me! Let’s be honest here, the relationship between Hollomgad and the Sanctum isn’t exactly ’friendly’ anymore, is it?"

Julia didn’t argue. She just chuckled_ a soft, terrifying sound.

Then, without asking for permission, she strutted right up the dais, turned around, and sat down comfortably on Tobias’s grand throne.

The entire hall went dead silent. Tobias’ guards choked on their own spit.

Only the absolute ruler of Hollomgad was allowed to sit in that chair! What was she doing?! Was she trying to say the Crown Keeper was just a dog beneath her boots?!

Julia casually leaned back, pulled a pistol from her belt, and pointed the barrel right at Tobias’s forehead. "You seem to have forgotten your place, Tobias," She said softly. "You are a servant of the Sanctum. Hollomgad only exists because we allow it to exist."

To prove her point, Julia casually flicked her wrist toward a guard.

Before anyone could react, a Sanctum soldier unsheathed his blade, moved like a ghost, and and sliced the throats of two of Tobias’s personal guards standing nearby. They hit the floor before the blood even sprayed the walls.

"Ah! Wait! Stop!" Tobias shrieked, sprinting into the middle of the room. He dropped to his knees, his hands clenched into tight fists, his whole body shaking with rage and terror. "I get it! Message received! I am sorry! I apologize!" He slammed his forehead against the cold floor, bowing deeply. By acting quickly, he hoped to save his own life.

Julia rested the gun on her lap. "Where is Zyra?"

Tobias kept his head glued to the floor, shaking it frantically. "I don’t know! I swear on my life, I haven’t seen her! She never came here!"

"Oh, really?" A sharp voice rang out from the back of the hall.

It was Nina who had been watching the drama unfold from behind a big pillar. She saw the blood on the floor, looked at the trembling Tobias, and realized this was her golden ticket.

She marched forward into the light, ignoring Tobias’s horrified glare.

"He’s lying, Mistress Julia!" Nina called out, her voice loud and clear. "Zyra Scorpion was here! Tobias met her himself!"

Gasps rippled through the room yet again.

Julia’s smile broadened. She chuckled softly and waved a finger at her soldiers. "Lock the doors. Nobody leaves."

"She’s lying! My wife is mentally unstable!" Tobias screamed, scrambling to his feet. "Shut up, Nina!"

"Shut up, Tobias," Julia commanded coldly. She turned back to Nina. "Go on, dear. Tell me all about this meeting."

"Not only did Zyra come here," Nina said, pointing a dramatic finger at Tobias, "but this traitor has been secretly sending out search parties to hunt her down for himself. He wanted to use her to grow his power and influence in the world."

"Is that so?" Julia whispered, her eyes glowing with dark delight.

Nina nodded vigorously. "Yes! He wanted to play both sides. He has no loyalty to the Divine maiden, only himself."

Tobias closed his eyes for a moment. He knew that Nina had just doomed him. "You fucking whore!" He roared, rising, and leaping at Nina in rage.